Bristol gets go-ahead to build more council houses

Bristol City Council is to build 30 council homes on land in Lockleaze following the success of a bid for Government funding.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) announced that the city would receive around £2.3 million towards the cost of the development on land off Bonnington Walk, currently an open area of council owned-land.

The cost of the scheme is £4,576,745 of which £2,288,372 will come through HCA grant funding and £2,288,372.50 will come from prudential borrowing.

The HCA money will cover half the build costs of the 30 new houses on the land which is earmarked for housing in the adopted Local Plan.

Councillor Mark Wright, cabinet member for housing and service improvement, said: “This is the second time in six months that we have successfully bid for HCA money to build new council homes and our success is good news given the demand for affordable housing across Bristol.

“We are also looking at the possibility of accessing other external funding sources in order to ‘upgrade’ the environmental standard of the homes, which is already very high, even further by putting in a ‘district’ heating system.”

The proposal is to build 30 new homes with a mix of two, three and four bedroom council houses on the top corner of the site, linking the new entrance road with the proposed Cycle City route being provided to access the site.

The aim is to submit a planning application for the site by May 2010 with a view to starting the development by late summer and completing by March 2012.